Twisted Beginning
by TheRoaringGriffin
Summary: Instead of taking Harry to the Dursleys, Dumbledore decides to take Harry to the Weasleys to live with them. How much will the story change? And what will Harry's new personality be like? Will the wizarding world be the same?Different Decisions Dumbledore
1. Prologue

_A/N: This is my first fan-fic. I have been an ardent lover of HP fan-fics and I decided to write my own. I hope that although this first chapter is very short, you will take time to read it and give me your opinion. If I get more than 5 reviews, good or bad (within a week) – I will continue writing this – I have 7 books planned. Pleas R&R, criticism is appreciated._

Disclaimer: I wish Harry Potter belonged to me. But it doesn't. It belongs to J.K. Rowling and all these characters are hers. :(

**Prologue**

Albus Dumbledore flipped through the large assortment of letters on his elegant mahogany desk, peering through his half-moon glasses, a bemused expression on his weary face. "Dedalus? Surely not?" he mused, a small twinkle appearing in his eyes as he surveyed the letter in his hand. As he made to open it however, the presence of a woman adorned entirely in flowing robes of emerald green standing at the threshold to the entrance of his study, cause him to abandon the task which seemed to amuse him.

"Ah! Minerva, why the gloomy face? Surely now is a time to let down your hair and be merry? I hear Professor Flitwick is having a party in the Great Hall--" Albus started by way of greeting, smiling, but stopping, when he saw the stern look of disapproval on her face.

"So you're saying it's true then, Albus? He-he's gone?"

Dumbledore nodded, "The evidence would clearly suggest so."

"Heavens! S-so James and … Lily, are they – are they d-ead?" she asked, clutching at her chest and gasping when Dumbledore bowed his head in reverence."And- and their son, Harry?"

"Alive – but from what I hear, scarred. Hagrid should be here with him any minute now." Dumbledore continued a look of remorse on his face.

"But how Albus? After all the things he's done, he couldn't kill a little boy? Surely it cannot be?" And are you sure that Hagrid should be trusted with such a delicate task? After all Dumbledore, a baby is not a threstal or a manticore?"

"We can only guess what happened, Minerva. But Hagrid – I would trust Hagrid with my life. But now - let us put our doubts aside and get to the matter at hand." he replied waving her over to his desk.

"Surely Albus, you are no longer considering to send him to his relatives? I've seen them-" she paused as she saw the pile of post on the desk.

"All, parents or families, rather. Willing to take Harry in. Even Mundungus and Dedalus have volunteered although I do not consider them valid candidates, of course. As his legal guardian in the wizarding world, I can choose either to adopt him myself, or give him up to a foster family. I certainly cannot adopt him – I am far too old to be rewarded with such a great treasure – instead I have to make a decision as to who should be valid enough to earn the right to this handsome baby. It would seem that a great wizard as myself -please excuse me – is stumped when it comes to making a decision about a certain one – year old."

"So _have_ you made a decision?"

"I believe so, but whether the decision is accurate or not is another matter. It _was_ a difficult decision to make..."

* * *

"Are you really sure of this Albus?" inquired the mother anxiously. "Not that we don't want him , of course – it would be wonderful, actually – but surely, there were... erm... better families?"

"If you are indeed talking of it in terms of gold, I would agree. But what is more important than money is love. And you are surely them most lovable mother I know – and pardon me – but your excellent cooking also had to do with the decision."

Somewhat flustered, the mother continued, "But, how-ever will we support him? We are quite thin out as it is... and another-"

"Fortunately that is not something to be worried about. The Potters were not about to let their own son go penniless. A significant portion of gold will flow into your account throughout the year for Harry's purposes and when he grows older his own account will be accessible. Not to worry though, his account will have a steady income from his parents' accounts as well. All of this was of course in Lily's will. She had apparently though about what would happen to Harry in case their secrecy should fail.

"But when do you think it would be good to tell him of all this?" spoke up the father for the first time.

"That will be your decision," Albus replied standing up form his cozy armchair by the fireplace. "I really must leave now. I have trespassed my stay quite long enough. I will drop by tomorrow with Harry. Madam Pomfrey is looking after him at the moment."

"What on earth will people say?" the mother asked clutching at her heart.

"That does not matter, Molly. All that matters is that soon, Harry Potter will be... Harry Weasley."

* * *

Far away, in a great magnificent looking castle, a lone boy woke up and started crying, a lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead, the color of dried blood. Little did this one-year old know that all across the country, wizards were meeting in secret and toasting to "Harry Potter – The Boy Who Lived."


	2. Chapter 1 The Letter

**Chapter 1: The Letter**

"RONALD WEASLEY! HARRY WEASLEY!" Molly screamed in fury as she stood upon the threshold to the attic room of the Burrow."Don't tell me you both stayed up the night again fighting with your pillows! Look at the mess you've made! You both clean it up before I come here again or you will de-gnome the garden for a month!"

"Wha...?" a red-headed boy muttered groggily as he emerged from a tangle of blankets. Freckled, with a long nose, he rubbed his eyes sleepily and looked around sleepily with half-open eyes just as another shape emerged from a bed next to his. This boy, raven haired, with piercing green eyes was a few inches shorter than the red-head but still rather normal for his age.

"Mum! But Fred and George were here as well! Can't they help as well?" Harry pleaded after he had gotten his own bearings and learnt what all the fuss and noise was about. "FRED! GEORGE! You both get up here right now!" Molly shrieked. "Mum! What's all the noise about? I want to sleep!" a small red-headed girl muttered sleepily as well from below. "Sorry, Gin, dear, but your brothers have been upto their regular games again and it's time they learned some manners and etiquette."

"FRED! GEOR-"

"Coming Mom!" two voices cried out in unison, from below. Footsteps were heard on stairs and a few minutes later as Harry and Ron were stretching themselves after de-entangling themselves from the mess of blankets, two more red-headed boys came into the room identical to the legs of their maroon pajamas. "What's all this fuss about, mom? We didn't do anything!" they said with innocent looking faces. "We went to sleep right after dinner remember?"

"No you didn't! You both came up here after Mom and Dad went to sleep and started this!" Ron cried out in protest as Harry nodded in agreement. "I don't care who started this or who was involved but the room will be clean when I return!" their mother said with a tone that said "or else..." and left the room.

"Let's leave these two to clean this up will we, Fred?"

"Of course. We wouldn't want to disturb them would we now?"

With that the two twins left the room, leaving a spluttering Ron and Harry in their wake. "_Gits!_" muttered Ron as he threw a pillow onto the bed. "That they are. C'mon Ron, let's clean this mess up. I really _don't_ want to spend the rest of the month de-gnoming the garden! And especially not tomorrow!"

* * *

After nearly an hour, the duo had cleaned up their room (which involved sweeping up all the feathers from the broken pillows under the carpet and stuffing the old socks into drawers), washed themselves and gotten down to the kitchen where Molly Weasley was now laying out breakfast. The twins and the little girl were already seated around the table and were apparently waiting for their arrival. After shooting dirty looks at the twins, Ron and Harry sat down next to the girl. They started to laden their plates as their mother said disapprovingly, "If I hear or see the remains of another pillow fight before September, both of you might not go to Hogwarts at all. You hear me?"

"Yes, Mum."

"So what are we going to do today, eh - Harry?"

"Well... Fred and George did promise to teach us some quidditch today and Dad bought enough brooms for all of us... so I was wondering, Mom, can we really try flying?"

She looked up sharply form her bacon and eggs and glared at the pair of them. "With all that you put me through the past week, I have half a mind not to. But seeing as Hogwarts will be starting soon and you both need some practice, I don't see why not. But NO flying through the goal posts or anything like that on your fist day in the air, you hear me?"

"Yes, Mum."

A sixth red-head came down the stairs, dressed neatly and smartly even though it was only seven in the morning. "Good morning, everyone." he said as he sat down and started piling some carefully chosen food onto his plate but suddenly got up scratching his behind, his face clearly showing his discomfort.

"Fred! George! What did you do to Percy?" their mother reprimanded as the twins promptly burst out laughing.

"Nothing!" they said in innocent voices that deceived no-one.

"Did you put itching powder in his pants again?" Molly screamed as she brandished a thin stick and waved it in the direction of Percy's bottom shouting "_scourgify!_".

"Thank you mother." he said as he sat down glaring at his brothers.

"You two will de-gnome the garden for a week. I told you both that if I catch you pranking anyone again that you would be punished." their mother said, glaring at the two of them as they opened their mouth in protest. "No _buts! _Ron, you and Harry won't be able to learn flying till evening. These two definitely will not be allowed near the pitch for another week. It's Friday and your father said that he would be home by three o' clock the latest."

"But mom! Can't Harry and I-"

"No you most certainly will not. I will not have my children flying unsupervised until they have learned to fly. You both can take a walk or something. I'll wrap up some sandwiches or something and when your father comes I'll tell him to head over to the pitch by four. So you can have the entire day out."

Harry and Ron knew that there was no way out of it now, so they both ate their breakfast as hurriedly as possible and picking up the pack of sandwiches quickly ran out, discussing what they were going to do and where they could possibly go.

"I do hope that those two don't try to play quidditch by themselves. Because if they do... well I'll just see about that." Molly Weasley muttered to herself.

* * *

"So what are we going to do today, eh - Harry?" Ron asked Harry again, the moment they were out of earshot of their mother.

"Hmm... I really don't know. I surely am not going to take a walk! What does mom think we are? Puppies? No way... Let's try some magic."

"But... but... all right."

The duo sat down on the grass after walking some distance away from the Burrow, a few yards from the quidditch pitch. Harry took some blades of grass into his hand and tried his best to make them fly. All he managed was to make it twitch (although that too may have been because of the wind). Ron had given up completely after trying to change the color of his hair for a few minutes.

"C'mon this is boring, Harry! Let's go do something else." Ron pleaded, yawning.

"Ok. Fine. What do you say I give you a dare?" Harry asked, a malicious glint in his eye.

"You're on! Give me your best! I bet I can do it!"

"Fine but if you don't... you have to... umm... de-gnome my side of the garden as well for a week."

"Deal!"

"Ok then... here's your dare. Get one of the brooms and fly at least a few feet. There. Try that on for size!" Harry smirked.

Ron visibly paled and his mouth hung slack. "No way Harry! If mum catches us... we're as good as dea-"

"Ha! Chicken! Now you have to de-gnome my side of the garden!"

"I'm _not _a _chicken_!"

"Prove it!"

Ron glared at his brother. "Fine then. But if mum catches us...."

They both ran toward the quidditch pitch and opened up the broom shed. "Wow Ron! Your Dad's gotten Nimbus 1700s for all of us!"

Faces red with excitement forgetting all about the dare, the duo grabbed two Nimbuses and dashed out of the shed. "Umm... Harry? How _do_ we fly these things?" Ron asked hesitation showing on his face.

"It can't be that hard. Let's just get on the broom for now ok?"

Saying this the pair of brothers mounted their identical brooms. Suddenly without a warning Ron dashed into the air, screaming at the top of his lungs as the broom dragged him all over the place, his firm grip on the broom preventing the worst from occurring.

Adrenaline flooding his body, Harry kicked his feet off the ground and forced himself into the air. Suddenly, he felt very much at ease. The broom responded to his lightest nudge and it felt as if he had been learning to fly for his entire life. The repeated screams of Ron breaking into his thoughts, Harry soared in the direction of Ron, leaning his upper body along the broom urging it to go faster (Ron was headed in the direction of one of the goalposts). Suddenly from below he heard a shriek. "HARRY! RONALD! What on earth are you two doing up there? PERCY! Get out here and get these two back on the ground!"

Ignoring the rantings of his mum, Harry closed in on Ron just as he was about to knock his head on the goalpost. Grabbing the twigs of the broom he pulled back hard and grabbed Ron by the collar. Ron's broom fell away to the ground where just before it hit the ground, their mum managed to summon it to her, her wand now brandished.

Pulling Ron onto his broom with one hand and securing the balance of the broom with one hand, making sure that Ron was holding on tightly, Harry landed a few feet where their mother and Percy were standing; Percy looking awestruck and their mother simply furious. In fact her hair and face were nearly identical in color. "What were you two doing? You could have been killed! You had me so worried! And your father spent so much on these brooms! What do you think he would've felt if you had gone and-"

"But mom! It was an accid-"

"No buts! Go to your room and stay there until your father comes home. You can take your sandwiches with you. And no sneaking out! I will personally come and lock your room up if I see you two out of the room today!" Clutching at her chest, their mother handed over the broom to Percy who came up to the two of them, the awed expression still on his face. "Heavens Harry! Where on earth did you learn to fly? I've never seen anyone fly like that! Not even Charlie can fly that well! Just wait until Dad gets home! BUT, you two were completely out of the line. Didn't mom tell you directly that no one was to fly today until father came home? She's going to be extremely disappointed with you two, you know? She might not even allow you two to fly before school starts again!"

Faces gloomy, Harry and Ron made themselves back to the Burrow. Halfway there, Ron seized Harry from the shoulders, pulled him around and said "Thanks Harry. I don't know how you learnt to fly like that... but it sure did save my life."

"It was nothing Ron! But you know flying isn't that hard. I only hope mom has it in her heart to let us fly again. I wouldn't even mind de-gnoming the garden for a week or two... if I could ride that broom again!"

* * *

As the two boys waited in their room, playing a game of Exploding Snap, time flew by and soon their father was at home listening impatiently to the story told by Molly and Percy.

"You mean to say that Harry flew so well on his first time on a broom?" Arthur Weasley inquired his face shining with excitement. "That boy really is a wonder I must sa-"

"ARTHUR WEASLEY! Those two boys are in BIG trouble and you will very well not congratulate ANY of them for disobeying me." Molly screamed at her husband, her face nearly as furious as it was before. The two boys heard this outburst even to the attic and grinned to themselves, knowing that their father would not even think of reprimanding them but instead would give whatever punishment their mother would say and afterward ask Harry to show all of the family his flying antics.

* * *

So it was no surprise to them that after their father had dealt out their punishment (cleaning dishes for the rest of the holidays – except tomorrow which was Harry's birthday), cornered them away from the sharp ears of their mother and asked if Harry would like to fly once again before dinner.

Grinning from ear to ear, the two boys ran outside followed in earnest by their father, Percy and the twins. Harry literally dived into the broom shed and fished out the Nimbus and mounted it before any of them had even reached the shed. He kicked off from the ground, the same feeling of elation returning with a sense of being at home. Flying, he thought, was _much_, much better than walking. Grinning to himself he looped in the air and zigzagged through the three fifty foot high goalposts. Diving down, he soared inches above the twins' heads as payback for their tricks in the morning as they dived to the ground, landing flat on their faces.

Laughing, he landed next to his father looking up at his awestruck face. "How on earth Harry?" he spluttered. "I really don't know Dad. I just nudge the broom and it carries me. I don't do a thing!" Harry replied, longing to kick off again.

"I wouldn't be surprised if Wood takes him to the team even though he is a first year. I bet even the other teams would be willing to accept him – that is if he goes to Gryffindor." Fred mused out aloud.

"Of course I will! I'm not going to go to any other house even if I'm sorted to them!" pouted Harry.

"All right, now don't start to fight. Now, Fred, George, Percy, why don't you and Harry fly around a bit until I teach Ron how to kick off properly and fly?"

Pulling out brooms from the shed, the four brothers kicked off into the air where they chased each other in the air trying their best to catch Harry but never succeeding. A long time after the sun had set, when it was nearly time for dinner, they headed inside, Ron and their father having joined in the game of "Catch Harry" which ended in a victory for the twins who had corned him by laying a trap.

"What do you bet Mum's first words will be: 'clean up, the lot of you, or no dinner!'." Fred asked George. Rolling his eyes he said, "Three knuts."

"Deal!"

"ARTHUR WEASLEY! Didn't I tell you not to encourage these boys to fly again?"

"You loose. Three knuts?"

"Arghh!"

* * *

The next day, Harry woke up to see sunlight streaming in from the parted curtains on the battered windows in his room and to find Ron's bed empty. Frowning, because it was unusual for Ron to _ever _wake up before Harry, he got up from the bed and had a quick wash, changing into a red jumper and black jeans before running down the stairs three at a time, yelling "What's for breakfast?"

Just as he opened the door to the kitchen, his mother engulfed him in a hug while everyone in the room yelled "Happy Birthday Harry!" As his mother let go with him telling "Mum! Leggo!", his dad patted him on the back and Ron and the brothers wished him as well (Bill and Charlie having gotten there in the morning). After getting his last wishes from Ginny, Harry glanced at the table and saw to his disappointment that there were no presents and no cake. Frowning, he turned to his mom and putting on a mopey look, said, "What? Nobody loves me anymore?"

Laughing, their mother said, "Of course not dear! It's just that we're going to be having your party in the evening and a couple of people have to arrive. So we decided to keep your gifts and cake till then."

"Oh, ok then. Who's coming? Is Aunt Muriel coming?" Harry asked, a dreaded look spreading across his face.

"No, dear. Your Aunt's down with some fever and won't be able to make it. ("Whew" muttered Harry under his breath while the rest of the Weasleys also gave a sigh of relief) The other guests are a surprise. They didn't want me to tell you about them because they want it to be a surprise. I hope you can wait to find out though."

"Of course I can Mum! As long as..." Harry asked biting his lip.

"What, dear?"

"I can go and play quidditch?"

To his greatest surprise and to the immense surprise of the rest of the Weasleys, she nodded.

"It'll give me some time to get the party ready with you lot out of the way. That includes you too Arthur!"

Just as the seven brothers and father were about to leave, leaving Ginny with their mother, two identical brown barn owls appeared at the window, tapping on it with their beaks.

As their mother opened the window, the two owls flew toward Ron and Harry, dropping into their hands a letter each.

Glancing at the seal on the letter, Harry knew it had to be from Hogwarts, having seen them being delivered to his brothers. Turning it in his hands so that he was now looking at the recipient's address, he saw the unbelievable.

On the letter were the words: "Harry J. Potter, The Burrow, Ottery St. Catchpole, Devon."


	3. Chapter 2 Orphan's Tale

_Disclaimer: None of this is mine. I just built up on the characters created by J.K. Rowling to create this AU. :D_

_A/N:I know that I have been updating really quickly for now (at least I think I have) but please note that I always won't be able to update this quickly. :) And... Voila! The first part of this chapter has been edited by Love-Pink26! :D_

**Chapter 2:Orphan's Tale**

"Ermm... Mum? I think they've gotten my name wrong or something!" Harry laughed out loud.

"What do you mean Harry, dear? Oh, dear. Arthur! Look at this!" his mother stammered, visibly paling. Their father grabbed the letter from his wife's hands, paling as well and said, under his breath, "I think it's time Molly. It would only have lasted till the evening anyway. It's better now."

"Do you really think so Arthur?" she said hesitantly to her husband. Arthur nodded his head solemnly.

"Sit down you lot. We have something to tell you all – except Bill, Charlie and Percy that is." their mother instructed them. Seeing the expression on her face, they all complied.

"Harry, dear, you know that we both love you, don't you? We have cared for you in every way possible. We have given you the best that we can give. We-"

"Errr... Mum? Could you just get to the point?" the five younger siblings of the Weasley family exclaimed in near unison.

"You lot keep quiet. This is a big announcement that I'm about to make." She said sternly. "All right, all right!" She added seeing the looks on their faces. "The main point is: Harry is not a Weasley. He is a Potter. We adopted him when his parents were killed."

A dead silence filled the room. Nobody moved or spoke. Then suddenly the twins burst out laughing, "You mean to say that Harry – our Harry – is the Boy-Who-Lived? This is hilarious!"

She glanced warningly at the twins before turning a soft look on Harry. "Believe me Harry, we didn't tell you until now because we thought you were too young. We were going to announce it this evening."

Harry still had an unreadable expression on his face as he listened to his 'parents' story of how his birth parents were killed by Voldemort – the most evil wizard who had ever existed –whom they referred to as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. How he had failed in killing Harry, and had been vanquished at the hands of a one year old boy. How in the dead of the night Hagrid,whom both Ron and Harry knew very well, had brought Harry to Dumbledore who then asked the Weasley's to take him in.

Harry was dumbstruck. To find out that the person he had considered to be his mother was not really his actual mother, and the father who had taught him everything he knew and whom he had learnt to love and respect was not his real father was a big thing to take in. His mind was whirring away as he blinked back tears that had sprung to his eyes. When he had learned of the terrible fate that had befallen his parents, he was – in short – stunned. He stared at the wall in front of him as the rest of the Weasley's stared at him, awestruck and bewildered that the boy that they had believed to be their brother was in fact a celebrity of the Wizarding world.

The parents of seven children, or perhaps eight, were unsure of what to say. They loved Harry as much as they loved any of the other children but were unsure as to how he would take to this new information. They knew that one day they would have to tell him and face the consequences, but they had not expected him to be as silent or dumbstruck as he was. They had expected him to be mad at them for not telling him sooner or to deny the entire thing completely, but surely not this.

Images were flooding Harry's mind. His first accidental magic in the hands of his 'father', his 'mother' healing a wound on his leg, his 'brothers' sneaking out of the house at night together, his 'parents' reprimanding them when they were caught. Truly, they were his parents and nothing could change that.

Suddenly running forward, Harry engulfed Molly Weasley in a bone-crushing hug. Standing on his tip-toes, he whispered in her ear, "I love you Mum."

* * *

After many tears, hugs and kisses Harry ran out of the house. He needed time to think so he mounted his broom and soared high into the air. Leaving all else behind, he pondered about everything that had happened. His biological parents were dead and he had no living relatives who could have adopted him. He also had no brothers or sisters. He was truly and utterly an orphan.

"No you're not Harry." Bill's voice broke through his thoughts. "I know what you're thinking and you're not an orphan. We love you and always will, no matter what. So get down here. The guests are coming!"

I _do _have a family, Harry thought with a smile, tears flowing freely down his face. I really do.

* * *

As the cake floated into the living-room, all the guests gasped. It was a beautiful replica of Harry's scar done in gold. Now that everyone including Hagrid, Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall knew that Harry had discovered his life story, having been taken aside and confided in, they all understood the significance of a scar on his eleventh birthday.

After all of the guests sung "Happy Birthday", Harry with the help of his mother cut the cake and served it to everyone. When Hagrid was served his piece, the cake dissolved from his tears as Harry thanked him for everything. They replaced his piece of cake with a drier one and the party guests relaxed as small conversations broke out everywhere.

"Whoa! Whoa! Hold on everyone! You can't start talking! Don't you know what has to happen now?" Harry suddenly asked as they all glanced around with confused and blank faces. "We open my presents of course! Did you think that I would have endured all those hugs and songs for anything else?"

The room burst into laughter and followed Harry to the corner where the gifts were kept.

"Open mine, first Harry! It's the one wrapped in blue." Ron shouted.

Taking the small package off the top of the pile, he ripped open the wrapping and pulled out a set of Chocolate Frog cards that would have taken a long time to collect. Even one of the rarest cards, _Erk the Irksome 650-730 A.D_., was there.

"Wow Ron! Thanks!" he said putting it aside and opening the rest of the presents as Ron looked pleased with himself. Overall, all his presents were satisfactory. He received a broom servicing kit from his parents, a pack of sweets from Fred and George, a book called "Dragons and their Powers" from Charlie and another book from Bill entitled, "Curses: Get to Know Them."

At the bottom of the pile were three more presents obviously from the three guests. Reaching for the largest package, which had to be from Hagrid, he uncovered a beautiful cage with a snowy white owl.

"Wow Hagrid!" Harry looked up at him, grinning.

Wiping his eyes, Hagrid muttered, "'twas nothing"

He smiled as he opened his second to last present, a book called "Mastering your Magical Powers" from Professor McGonagall. He gazed at the last present which had to be from his future Headmaster. The package turned out to be flexible and easy to lift and Harry, thinking it was probably a jumper or something similar, opened it to reveal a silvery looking cloth that flowed in to his hands. He stared in awe as his hands disappeared.

"Merlin's pants! That's an invisibility cloak! Wicked!" Ron exclaimed his eyes wide with excitement and anticipation of all the things that could be done with such a tool in their hands. "Ron! Don't swear!" his mother reprimanded as Harry looked up to his Professor's eyes which were twinkling a rather bright blue. "It was your father's, Harry. I thought that it would be best if you could have it, although... it will up to your mother to allow you to bring it to Hogwarts."

"Thank you so much Professor!" Harry said as he ran got up from his place on the floor and gave the surprised old man a hug around the waist. It was then that he understood that receiving a personal belonging of a father he never had known had existed to that very day was a very emotional combination. Dumbledore patted his head and said, "Now, now Harry. Calm down." Extracting himself from the old man, Harry turned around to his mother and gave his mother his most innocent looking puppy-face that he knew his mother couldn't ignore – especially on his birthday.

"No! No way! I'm not going to let you -"

She weakened under Harry's look. "All right! Fine! But if I hear of either one of you getting in trouble roaming the castle after hours wearing that cloak..." She let the threat hang in the air but was encompassed in a bear hug from Harry. "Thanks Mum!"

He didn't notice the single tear flowing down her face and falling in to his hair.

* * *

It was later that night that Harry remembered the letter that he had gotten in the morning and wondered what books and things he would have to get for his first year at Hogwarts. This was also only when he saw the letter placed on his bedside table as he was about to go to sleep. Grabbing for the letter and calling out for his bedside light, he sliced open the letter cover. Holding it to the light, he read the first paper that fell into his hand from the cover.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

**UNIFORM**

First-year students will require:

1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)

2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)

Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags

**COURSE BOOKS**

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk

A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot

Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling

A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emetic Switch

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore

Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble

**OTHER EQUIPMENT**

Wand

Cauldron (pewter, standard size 2) set

Glass or crystal phials

Telescope set

Brass scales

Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad

**PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS**

Excited that he would soon be getting his own wand, Harry reached in the cover for the second piece of letter and read it once again, holding it to the light.

**HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY**

_Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE_

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

Dear Mr. Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,

Deputy Headmistress

* * *

The rest of the holiday passed by uneventfully except for a surprise visit by Hagrid who said that Dumbledore had instructed him to escort them to Diagon Alley, two weeks before September 1st so that Mrs. Weasley wouldn't have to manage all of them at once. This excited both Ron, Harry and Ginny who had never been to Diagon Alley but only a few shops in Devon which were stocked with wizarding supplies.

* * *

On the morning of the 18th of August, exactly two weeks before school would start, Harry and Ron were shaken awake by their mother urging them to wake up quickly or otherwise that they would not be able to go to Diagon Alley. Under this threat, the two boys woke up grudgingly and walked sleepily, eyes still shut and knocking on random objects - Ron nearly tripping over a book on the floor - to the bathroom where both of them closed themselves inside. A few seconds later, the pair of them came running out screaming, their sleepiness shaken off.

Nearly an hour later, just as the sun was rising the two of them came downstairs, munching on the toast that their mother had left for them in their room and saw Hagrid seated on two of the chairs at the kitchen table, waving to them. While Harry and Ron greeted Hagrid, the rest of the Weasleys came down, along with a flustered Molly Weasley who instructed Hagrid to take Ron and Harry over to the fireplace while she brought the rear.

Having traveled by Floo before, to Devon, Harry threw some Floo powder from the flowerpot into the fire and watched as the glittering powder turned the flames emerald green. Stepping into the flames, he shouted, "Diagon Alley!" With the familiar feeling of spinning wildly and soaring upwards returning to him, he squinted through his glasses, with his elbows tucked in and watched as the fireplaces of various houses and places whooshed past him at an alarming pace. In nearly no time at all, he was being thrown forwards on to his face as he emerged in a dingy looking, apparently unused room which was empty except for a small battered looking couch which was facing the fireplace.

Harry got to his feet and walked a few paces forwards and turned to look as Ron shot out of the fireplace, followed by Ginny, Percy, Fred and then George. Hagrid and their mother was last (Hagrid nearly getting stuck in the fireplace, and only being able to get out after being grabbed from his arms and pulled out while their mother stuck within the fireplace, pushed him out, unable to breathe).

Laughing, at an embarrassed Hagrid, the children followed their mother out of the room and into a small restaurant like room which Hagrid called "The Leakey Cauldron". Hagrid waved to the barman, "'Lo there Tom!" The balding man looked up from the glass he was filling with sherry for an old woman and waved back at Hagrid. "Hello there Hagrid! Nice to see you here! And who's his with you? Ah! Mrs. Weasley I see! Good to see you ma'am. I trust your husband is well? And your children?"

Saying this, he looked at each of the Weasley children, his eyes stopping on each of them for a second,nodding at Percy in recognition and Ron's in welcome. But when his eyes reached Harry's face, the old man gasped. "Merlin's beard! It can't be -" The pub which had been noisy with the incessant chatter of it's customers suddenly fell silent. "It's Harry Potter!"

With this a scraping of chairs was heard as the entire pub got to it's feet and hurried over to Harry and the Weasleys. As Harry's hand was being shaken continuously, Hagrid and the rest of the Weasleys grinned as a few of the people strode over to them asking them about Harry.

"Delighted, Mr. Potter, just can't tell you, Diggle's the name, Dedalus Diggle." one man said as his top hat fell off in excitement.

"Honored to meet you, Mr. Potter!"

"Hope you have a wonderful day Mr. Potter!"

With the Weasleys' and Harry's insistence that they were getting late, they managed to escape from the mob and walked out to the backyard of the pub, where, their mother, drawing out her wand and tapped a brick on the wall, which caused the brick to wriggle and make a small hole appear.

The hole grew larger and larger and finally stopped as a large arc was formed, revealing the entrance to a cobbled street which wound it's way through the shops and seemed to disappear out of sight. "Welcome," said Hagrid, "to Diagon Alley."

The group stepped through the archway and into the street to see that the arch had disappeared. Glancing around to see the large assortment of shops, Harry knew that he was going to have an exciting day ahead of him.

* * *

_A/N: Please notice that some of the conversations and the letters from Hogwarts are taken directly from the books themselves and that no alterations have been made. And I apologize for the long wait for the update, but I had a project to hand over and a load of classes, so I was kind of busy. Sorry! :( But hope that this chapter keeps you entertained until probably (60 hours or so) – I'm not mentioning days because, I'm in Sri Lanka and since most of the readers are in the US, it would be a mix up. Anyway, this is going to be the first chapter that my beta, Love-Pink26 will have edited for me, so I'm guessing it will be better than the previous chapters. :) Have a nice weekend! :D_


	4. Chapter 3 Curious Choices

_Disclaimer: OK. So here's how it goes: "I don't own any of the HP characters or their world for that matter." :'(_

_A/N: Really sorry that I couldn't update sooner, but my grandfather passed away and I was caught up in soo much that I literally didn't have any time. =(_

_Thanks for all the people who reviewed it last timer. :) Here are my answers to your reviews! :)_

_mmendoza688: Thanks! And hope to write more as well._

_Love-Pink26:Me neither! :D_

_LupinandHarry: Thanks! And don't worry, Harry will be realistic and it has been kind of hard for me to create relationships with the characters because this is my first FF. But thanks for bringing it to my attention. I'll be sure to pay more attention to it now. :)_

_Now, I figured out, that since I have made a little twist as such within Dumbledore's head for Harry to live as such, why can't he make another small decision that will hopefully (**evil wink**) change the entire plot of the story. :D_

**Chapter 3: Curious Choices**

The eight of them stood in front of a large towering white building that seemed to be the largest building that they had seen so far. Above the bronze doors that gleamed in the sunlight were the words "Gringotts Bank" etched into the building. Hagrid, now in the lead, they made their way up the mall set of stairs and through the doors, after which they found themselves in front of another pair of doors, silver this time. Upon the doors were the words:

_"__Enter, stranger, but take heed  
Of what awaits the sin of greed,  
For those who take, but do not earn,  
Must pay most dearly in their turn.  
So if you seek beneath our floors  
A treasure that was never yours,  
Thief, you have been warned, beware  
Of finding more than treasure there."_

_Awed, Harry looked up at Hagrid who said, "Tha's why yeh'd have to be mad to try to rob Gringotts. Reck'n they've got dragons and stuff to help 'em. So don't even think of robbing anything." Smiling at Harry's awestruck face, Hagrid opened the silver doors and led the Weasleys inside._

_"Blimey Harry! Imagine having dragons to guard the place! They must be having plenty of gold down there!" Ron, Harry noticed, too was awestruck._

_Past the doors, was a vast marble hall where, numerous goblins stood behind long counters that lined the walls, counting coins, rubies and even diamonds. Laughing at the longing expression on Ron's face when he saw a diamond that seemed to be perfect in size and color to Ron's head, Harry hurried up behind his mother as she had taken the lead and was now talking to a free goblin. After she handed him two small keys, the goblin shouted, "Griphook! Take this family to their vault and then Mr. Potter to his vault!"_

_"I have a vault for myself?" Harry asked, dazed as another goblin came hurrying up to meet them. "Of __course, dear! Your parents have given you your own vault and there is a Potter family vault as well if I'm not mistaken, but you will only be given permission to get gold from that vault only when you are eighteen." his mother replied, fondling his hair as he tried to escape the cuddling._

_"Oh! An' Professor Dumbledore asked me to get the You-Know-What from vault seven hundred and thirteen." added Hagrid just as they were about to be led away by Griphook. "What's that Hagrid?" the twins inquired in unison, their faces displaying that they would not rest until they were told what the "You-Know-What" was as Hagrid fumbled in his pockets for a letter which he promptly gave to the goblin at the counter saying, "Ah! No tellin' Fred and George! Can' tell anyone! Top secre' this is!"_

_"Very well. This seems to be in order." said the goblin, reading the letter, "Griphook, you heard the 'Hagrid'."_

_Griphook led the family out of the hallway and deeper in to Gringotts through one of the many doors that seemed to line out of the hallway. There was a sudden change of scenery so startling that it was enough to confuse you for a minute. The magnificent marble was replaced by cold stone and they were in some sort of enormous tunnel with little railway tracks lining the floor. The goblin called Griphook whistled twice and a large cart came hurtling towards them. Just as it stopped, Griphook got in and indicated that they should follow._

_Jumping in, Harry, Ron, Fred and George made themselves comfortable while Percy, Ginny and their mother seated themselves on the opposite side. There was no room for Hagrid. "Ah, yeh go on ahead with these lot, Molly. I'll get what I nee' from another goblin and I'll be outside. Fine with yeh right?"_

_Even as their mother nodded in approval, the cart whisked themselves off (not smoothly mind you) as Harry waved at Hagrid. Just as the cart picked up speed in a twisting maze of tunnels, where occasionally one could see other wizards hurtling on other tracks, it came to a halt. They all got out, and Griphook strode over to the small door they could see embedded in to the wall and took out one of the keys. Opening the door, they saw a small mound of galleons as well as some sickles and plenty of Knuts. Gathering nearly half of the gold in to a small pouch, their mother escorted them back to the cart as it took them even further down the maze of tunnels, Griphook seated at the front._

_Just as Harry was getting chilled from the freezing cold air that was billowing past them, the cart stopped in front of a larger door, much larger than the Weasley vault. Hopping out, the family walked up to the door as Griphook opened it. They were all suddenly dazzled by the heaps of gold and mountains of silver. It looked as if the vault was being overflowed._

_Harry's mouth hung slack._

_"You really don't have to take all of this gold you know Harry. You have to make it last for seven years you know. So take a few galleons only and a few more to take to school in case you need anything." his mother suggested fondling his hair._

_Clutching the large pouch that his mother thrust into his hands, Harry walked into the vault, clambering over the entrance, still numb with shock. While his brothers watched green with envy (though not spitefully), Harry scooped up a handful of galleons at least a hundred of them and a few hundred sickles as well as knuts, when his mother informed him that he would have to buy everything he __needed from this gold as well as use it as his pocket money for the entire following year - "I won't be allowing you to take more gold during the holidays, young man! So take what you want now!"_

_Holding his now heavy money bag, Harry scrambled back out of the vault, nearly tripping over the entrance as Griphook started to close the entrance. Ignoring the jealous looks of his brothers because he knew he would obviously be sharing the gold with them, he ruffled his hair, running his hand across his hair making it even more messier than it had been after the ride in the cart and trying to look high and mighty._

_"Careful there young, Harry-"_

_"-you might just find that your head gets too big for you."_

_"And if you can't hold that small money bag-"_

_"-you might just find that it would bring you down, rather than up."_

_The twins grinned, while Harry smirked knowing that they were just jealous. "Pooh! You two are the one's who have gone down – not me. That wasn't even up to standard."_

_Leaving the beautifully white building behind, to guard it's enormous treasures, the Weasley family strode out of it and into the warm, sunlight to find Hagrid standing outside chatting with the security goblin._

_"'Cuse me." Hagrid said to the goblin who only looked too pleased to be away from Hagrid and came up to the family. "Ah! Molly! Trus' everthing wen' well?"_

_"Hagrid! What ____did__ you take from vault seven hundred and thirteen?" Ron asked in a pleading voice that convinced everyone but Hagrid._

_"No, Ron. Can't do. S'rry." Hagrid said, truly looking sorry as he said it. From this Harry easily understood that Hagrid would be an easy person to coax a secret out of just by pleading for hours on. But since they didn't have hours, they descended the stairs and walked to their right, towards the most exciting part of their shopping (according to Harry) to what their mother called Ollivanders, their wand shop._

_Passing a shop that sported the board, "Magical Menagerie" (which was quite dark and nearly invisible to the people on the street but which was emitting the sounds of half a dozen animals, and a second-hand robes shop, they came across a narrow, shabby looking shop that seemed to be very dusty and ancient. Above the door, the reasons were revealed; in large peeling gold letters were the words, __"__Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C." Wondering why on earth a shop that sold wands couldn't be kept clean with a single wave of a wand as he had seen his mother doing, Harry stepped hesitantly into the shop, a small bell tinkling somewhere as the door opened._

_The shop was small and dingy. There was a small spindly chair in a corner and millions of long, thin boxes that were piled one on top of the other along the walls. A small doorway was seen in the opposite wall. As everyone looked around and their mother sat down on the chair to wait, Harry looked around, __Ron and Ginny following suit._

_"Good Evening." a soft voice came from the dark just as the hair on the back of Harry's neck prickled._

An old man stood on the threshold of the doorway hiding the murky depths of the shop, with his thin profile.

"Ah! Mrs. Weasley -11 inches, willow and unicorn hair? Very firm, unyielding. I trust there is no fault?" Mr. Ollivander asked from their mother who had now risen from her seat, his moon like eyes shining in the shadows. "And you, boys, your wands are still well I suppose?"

"Of course, Mr. Ollivander – we're just here to get my youngest son, Ronald and Harry Potter a wand." their mother remarked, clearly hard pressed to finish up with the shopping.

"Ah! Mr. Potter – how I waited till this day... How well I remember..."

"Remember what Mr. Ollivander?" Harry asked, thinking that the old man was quite strange and touched in the head. "My dear boy – I remember every wand that I have sold and the wand that did this..." he said pointing at Harry's scar. "How well I remember..."

"Mr. Ollivander? I hope we could hurry up -"

"Ah! Yes of course!"

With this, he hurried in to the depths of the shop and came out carrying a tape that seemed to be wriggling in his hands. Letting go of it, he pulled out a small notebook and began to take down the measurements that the tape seemed to be making on it's own. A few minutes later he deemed the pair of them done and got down a number of boxes.

Handing Ron a wand from one of the boxes, Mr. Ollivander recited, "Maple and unicorn hair, eleven and a half inches, quite flexible."

Ron stared at it – apparently not knowing what to do. "Give it a wave, boy!" Mr. Ollivander said impatiently as Fred and George sniggered ; Ron glared at them while Percy attempted to reprimand them.

The moment Ron began to wave it, Mr. Ollivander made a grab for the wand, surprising Ron so much that he tripped over the hem of his pants; giving the twins another reason to roar with laughter. Harry looked at Mr. Ollivander, who was looking through the boxes, apparently undisturbed. Handing Ron another wand, he went through the same drill again. A few wands later, he deemed Ron satisfactory with a wand that shot green sparks out of ti's end when it was waved. "Willow and unicorn hair. Ten and three-quarter inches – rigid." he proclaimed as he handed the box back to Ron, his wand now encased within it's silk-lined interior.

With a slight prodding from Fred, Harry stumbled towards Mr. Ollivander, only to repeat the same fate as Ron. After countless number of wands, tried but with no effect save for one, which had shot out of his hand and poked George in the eye, Mr. Ollivander murmured, "Hmm... I wonder..."

With Harry wondering what on earth the old man was talking about, he was suddenly handed a wand - "Holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches,nice and supple". The moment Harry's tired fingers enclosed upon the wand, he felt a sudden warmth in his fingers and a stream of red and gold sparks shot out of it – enclosing the dark room in a brilliant warm glow that seemed to last even after the wand was snatched out of his fingers.

"Curious... Curious..." Mr. Ollivander proclaimed, placing the wand delicately in another silky box.

"Sorry, Mr. Ollivander, but what's curious?" Ron asked timidly, his gaze still upon his new wand, his look one that of a mother, with her new born babies. While the twins made lovey-dovey faces behind Ron, Mr. Ollivander replied, "I remember every wand I ever sold, Mr. Potter. And how curious it is, that the very phoenix that gave the feather of the wand that gave you your scar, would give no more but one more feather – the feather within the wand that you now hold in your hand. Oh! We must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter – for terrible though You-Know-Who was, his power was still great."

With their wands in their pockets, the boxes laying discarded in their mother's bag, the Weasleys and Hagrid left Ollivanders and headed towards Flourish and Blotts which was, apparently, a bookshop of sorts.

Upon entering the shop, which was quite full since Hogwarts was about to open and since it was a Sunday, Fred and George were waved over by a fellow student, the apparently famous, Lee Jordan, who was their best friend, and Percy, the new 'Perfect Prefect', ran of to find a book on Hogwarts Rules and Regulations, claiming, "I have to do my job well, you know, Mum! Don't you worry – the twins won't be able to pull any more of their pranks while I'm a prefect."

The still scratching behind of Percy Weasley was a perfect example of how they still could, but neither Ron nor Harry wanted to point this particular point out.

Handing over their book-lists to their mother, the pair of them also walked around the store, browsing through the wide assortment of books. A book bound in leather with a cover that said, "Concealment and Covert – Your Guide to Spying" by an author, whose name seemed to have melded in with the cover particularly entranced Harry. But when they tried to read the book, they found to their greatest disappointment that it would not reveal it's contents – but would hide the letters, whenever they turned the page.

Leaving aside the book as a lost cause, they searched for Fred and George, which was quite a difficult thing to do, considering the fact that the entire store was nearly overflowing.

Spotting the two of them with Lee, Ron and Harry hurried over – but when they got closer, Harry motioned for Ron to be silent and to come closer. Groping into his pocket, Harry pulled out his invisibility cloak. Ron's eyes went wide. He had had no idea that Harry had brought it along. Throwing the cloak over the pair of them – making a small girl gasp when she saw the pair of them apparently disappear into thin air – Harry whispered, "What's that they're holding and why are they looking around as if they are afraid of being caught or something?"

Ron looked away from the small girl who was now tugging the pant leg of her father, apparently to tell the tale of "The Two Boys Who Vanished" and looked in the direction of the the twins. They were holding what appeared to be a piece of parchment out to Lee and apparently describing it.

Nudging Harry, the pair of them moved closer to them.

"-shows even where all the people are! Bet Filch didn't know how to use the thing or we would all have been caught long time ago."

"Darn good thing I saw it when I did!"

"So – err – how doe it work?" Lee asked, holding out what apparently seemed to be a blank piece of parchment.

Extracting his wand out, Fred placed the tip of it on the map and said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Faint ink lines traced across the parchment and at the top of the parchment, the words, "Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs, Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers are proud to present the MARAUDER'S MAP" in great green curly lettering. The ink became more pronounced and what appeared to be a map, was revealed only – there were tiny ink dots, a few though, which were moving and with names written below them.

From where Harry was standing, he didn't have that much of a good view, but he was sure he saw the name "Dumbledore" somewhere on the map.

"Bloody Hell, Fred! The entire castle is in here! Hogwarts will be ours surely with this!" Lee exclaimed. Then suddenly he lowered his voice - "Does anyone else know about this?"

When the twins shook their heads in unison, Lee whooped.

It was nearing noon when they finally left the bookstore, arms laden with books which were packed in to their mother's bag after they arrived back at the Leaky Cauldron – Harry being offered a handshake by passer-bys while they tried their best to stuff all the books in to the single bag. Harry nudged Ron and stood up from their table, and walked over to Tom, he owner of the store who greeted Harry once again praisingly.

"Mr. Tom? Could we have lunch here please?"

Harry's request befuddled Ron. Their mother had brought along some lunch, all packed and ready.

"Harry? What -"

"So can we?"

"Of course, Mr. Potter – I will see that you get the best of our lunches."

As they made their way back to the table, Harry muttered to Ron, "My treat for being rich." Laughing at Ron's grin, Harry sat down ready to eat to his heart's content.

The excursion to Madam Malkin's Robes For All Occasions was a horrifying experience for the new Hogwarts to-be first-years. Their mother purposefully strode them over to the never-ending racks of robes and made them decide the one they liked best. To both Ron and Harry, the robes seemed all alike since they were all black, but then, their mother saw it differently.

In the end after picking a _black_ robe each for the duo, they left the shop.

After purchasing the rest of the items on the book-list, which did not include a _solid gold cauldron _as Harry was told by his mother, they left Diagon Alley and headed out to the small room to Floo back to the Burrow.

_As Harry lay on his bed that night, he knew, that he could not have ____ever__, wished for a better family or a better day._


	5. Chapter 4 Hidden Castles

_Disclaimer: Obviously the world of Harry Potter is not mine. But this new plot is – and by now you should have noticed the small difference I made in the plot!_

_A/N:Thanks to all those who reviewed my story!! I got 618 hits in ONE day!! :D (grinning like crazy). Thanks mike for making that suggestion to remove the 'part' story concept and making it more lively. :D So... here are answers to some of your reviews. :D_

_keeperoliver: thanks for the review! It helps! :D_

_Alex: Thank you soo much for pointing this out. I have tried to correct my mistake within this chapter - I was wondering myself whether I ought to make it more emotional, but... I guess I never did... :D I really appreciate your criticism – hope you review this one too!_

_So here's another chapter! And no parts this time onward! :D_

_

* * *

_

**Chapter 4: Hidden Castles**

Armed with the books that they had bought while in Diagon Alley, Harry took up the habit of reading, something he had never bothered to do, given the fact that Ron had always called reading, boring. But, now, since Ron spent most of his time outside in the open air, trying his best to master his flying skills, Harry could read – somehow – it was quite interesting.

Wanting to learn more and more about spells and the like, his first choice of reading was _The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1). _Finding it deeply interesting, he immersed himself in the book propping the book up on some pillows and he never felt the time flow by, until he realized that he had completely finished reading the book and that it was nearly noon – only a day had passed since he had bought the book, and here he was, having already finished the book! He knew that if Ron found out, he would definitely be in for some ridiculing and he at once began to think of excuses he could make to Ron, to cover up his newly found obsession.

"Tell him that you were building a castle from the Exploding Snap cards." a voice came from the doorway.

He turned around and saw that it was Ginny.

"How did you know that I was thinking of an excuse?"

"Well, it's not a hard thing to figure out what you were thinking when it's clear that you've been reading the book for nearly six hours straight, and that Ron hates it completely." she smirked and strode over to the bed. "Reading isn't bad you know – I just think that Ron can't read."

As Harry stifled a laugh, Ginny picked up the book he had been reading and started reading. Leaving Ginny to read the book, Harry left his and Ron's room. Running down the stairs, he met Ron, drenched in sweat and his hair messed up with dirt and bits of grass.

"Wow, Ron! Looks like you really did fly – but were you in the air or the ground?"

Evading the tired punch, Harry laughed and made his way down to the kitchen, where his mother was busy arranging the plates on the table and was immediately called over by his mother to help arrange the table.

* * *

The rest of the holidays blew by without much incident except for Ron nearly crashing his broom into an oak tree (only saved by Harry, who had happened to be nearby examining a bird's nest in the same tree), and Harry completely finishing all the books they had been assigned for their first year. The pair of them were now getting very excited at the prospect of going to Hogwarts as the day loomed closer and closer.

* * *

When it seemed as if time could not have gone any slower, the fateful day of September the 1st arrived and with it, a pair of Muggle cabs to take them to King's Cross station. Their mother woke the pair of them up and instructed them to get ready and check through their trunks to see if they had missed anything. Grumbling, the pair of them woke up and grudgingly got dressed, stumbling over the large trunks and cages in the process. Hauling the trunks and cages (one for Hedwig and the other for Scabbers, Ron's hand-me-down rat from Percy), Harry and Ron made their way down the stairs to see their mother piling buttered toast and eggs on to plates and stuffing them in to their brother's and, surprisingly, their sister's hands.

"Mum! Ginny's coming with us?"

"Of course, dear! We just can't leave her home alone and your father also wants to come with us today. Where is he anyway? He's going to make us all late! Ah! There you are Arthur!" she said, stuffing plates into Harry and Ron's hands, while their father came in to the kitchen.

"Don't fret Molly, dear! It's still only 6 o' clock! We'll have plenty of time. But don't you think -"

Their mother cut him sharply. "No, Arthur! I told you once. We're going to take these cabs to the station and nothing else."

The children stared, apparently, something was up, but they weren't going to get to know about that. Shrugging, the lot of them quickly drowned their toast in pumpkin juice and with the help of their mother and father, dragged their trunks down to the cabs, only to find, upon drawing nearer, the cab drivers were nowhere to be found.

"Arthur! What are we going to do? We're going to get late! The train will leave! We -"

"Hush, Molly dear. You fret too much. Let's get the Knight Bus." Saying so, their father stuck out his wand hand and waved it to the road. BANG! A triple decker, purple bus suddenly exploded into view, and trundled down the road, until it had reached the Weasley family. From the entrance, a conductor, dressed in the same violent purple, jumped down and greeted their father warmly, "'Morning Mr. Weasley! Where are you off to today? Ah! The little ones off to school eh? Don't worry we'll get you there on time!"

"Morning, Jim. Children, this is Jim, the conductor of the Knight Bus. He's an old friend of mine and – enough of that, let's get these trunks aboard."

With the help of the good-natured Jim, a tall man with a rather large nose and protruding lips, the children were seated on what appeared to be large armchairs strewn all over the bus, apparently not fixed to the floor. With a sudden lurch, the bus jerked forwards and they were suddenly rolling across the floor of the bus, their armchairs toppled. Their father quickly rightened them and cast a spell on each of the chairs to prevent them from removing from the floor (a Sticking Charm) and while Ron grumbled about never going in the Knight Bus ever again, Percy looked quite sick.

* * *

After passing Exeter, then rolling through some mountainous areas and finally the streets of London, they came to a sudden halt in front of King's Cross. The Weasleys stumbled out of the bus, only too glad to see it disappear around the corner – the memory of it's roller-coaster ride still fresh in their minds. Grabbing their trunks, they made their way to the barrier between platform nine and ten. When they arrived there, they were met by a blank piece of wall – but, then, Harry thought, everything in the wizarding world seemed to be hidden behind blank walls.

Both Harry and Ron had been here previously to see their brothers off to Hogwarts and had already seen the Hogwarts Express. So, with the prompting of their mother, the two of them made a small run to the wall and were suddenly traveling through pitch darkness for a second and suddenly, light. The pair of them looked around, without moving from their spots.

There stood the Hogwarts Express in all it's glory, their only way of getting to the one place they had dreamed of, their entire life. Suddenly, the pair of them were knocked off their feet as the twins had come through the barrier and bumped into them. Their trunks flew off in all directions and Hedwig screeched as her cage rolled on the floor. The twins' trunks fell on Ron and Harry and the twins, who had abruptly gotten to their feet began hooting, only to get knocked off their feet when Percy, Ginny and their mother came running in. Now, the entire family, without including their father was on the floor, tangled in a jumble of arms and legs. Just as they were extracting themselves, their father came running through the barrier as well, to trip over an outstretched arm of Percy's and to fall, promptly on top of all of them.

Now, laughing, all of them got up and gathered their things while their mother screeched at both Ron and Harry for 'making a mess of everything'. Armed with their trunks, the children made their way towards the train, and got on one of the carriages. It seemed as if no one had arrived yet or perhaps the people who had arrived were already on the train and their parents had left. One of the compartments was full of some girls who looked about fifth year and another, full of some serious looking seventh-years. Finding an empty compartment, Harry and Ron sat down, opened the window and waved to their mother.

"You two be good, now! No messing about with the professors or Dumbledore!"

"Yes, Mum!"

"And DON'T listen to anything that your brothers say!"

"Yes, Mum!"

"Stay out of mischief and don't wander about on the corridors at night!" she said, knowing that that was what they were planning to do with their new found Invisibility Cloak which had, during the holidays, caused large amounts of baked treats disappear in broad daylight with no particular culprit to be seen.

"We won't, Mum!" they chorused, crossing their fingers behind their backs.

"Your father and I will be going, then. Take care and tell your brothers that we said good-bye to them."

The twins chose this moment to put their heads out of the windows and shout, "Bye, Mum! We'll send you that toilet we promised, Ginny! Then you can have your very own piece of Hogwarts!"

Their mother glared at them and waved, and clutching Ginny with one hand, disappeared with a "pop". Their father too, waved at them and Apparated. Harry and Ron sat back down on their seats, their trunks on the luggage rack.

"So, do you think that we could really sneak off in the middle of the night? According to _Hogwarts: A History_, the Gryffindor portrait won't allow us – but I bet we could convince her..."

Ron just stared at him open-mouthed. Harry stared back.

"Ermm – Ron?"

"You – you – you read those _books_? Ron asked mouthing the word "book" in such a way that it sounded as if he was talking about something that had come out of a sewer.

Harry lowered his head to his hands, knowing he had committed a grave mistake.

* * *

Nearly an hour later, when the Hogwarts Express was about to leave, the platform now full of mothers hugging their children and fathers standing by, apparently wanting to say good bye as well, Ron finished arguing with Harry about the concept of 'reading'; the pair of them had come to a draw. Looking around, Harry saw that many children were walking past their compartment, apparently, looking for empty compartments. A round boy, with a shiny face – covered with perspiration – came the opposite way, slid open the compartment door and poked his head in, people in the corridor cursing his over-large trunk.

"Can I come in? Everywhere else is full." he asked, his face expectant and begging.

Harry nodded.

"Thanks! You won't believe how many people there seem to be looking for compartments!" he hauled his trunk on to the luggage rack. "My name is Neville, by the way. Neville Longbottom." he added, taking a seat by Harry.

"Ronald Weasley – but call me Ron."

"Harry. Harry – Weasley." Harry said rather hesitantly, unsure of whether he ought to use his real name.

"You two brothers, then?" They nodded.

"Hmm... You two don't look a bit alike. Anyway, do you have any more in your family?"

The train gave a sudden lurch and started to rumble – it was about to start its journey to the Hogwarts.

As Ron launched into a fully fledged description of the Weasley lineage, Harry immersed himself in his thoughts. The sudden need to introduce himself had reminded him how his parents were dead and that he was actually an outsider to the Weasley family. He hadn't actually thought about it during the holidays, and no one had spoken to him about it. He had immersed himself in his books and forgotten all about it. But, now, it had all returned to him. How had his parents died? Of course, he knew that they had been killed by Voldermort – somehow Harry felt right in calling him by his proper name; to be frightened of saying his name would only make the murderer even greater – but he didn't know how exactly. Somehow it was all very important to him – though he knew that knowing it would make no difference.

His thoughts shifted to his parents. They must have loved him a great deal. They had given him a great deal of money and had even thought about he should survive if he were to be left alone in this world. This raised another question in his mind. Had they known that they were going to be killed? Was that why they had left such a great deal of money for him? If they had known, why hadn't they gone into hiding? But from the motherly love he had felt from his 'mother' he knew that they must have done everything they could have to protect him. If his 'Mum' loved him so much, while not being his biological mother – he couldn't even imagine the love his real mother would have felt for him.

He felt tears well up in his eyes as he began to think of how life would have been if his parents had been alive. He blinked. Now was not the time to think of such tings – especially with Ron in front of him. He snorted loudly as he though of what Ron would say if he knew what he was thinking. Ron and Neville stared at this sudden outburst and Harry looked outside. They were rolling through some beautiful countryside now, and the sun was past it's peak.

* * *

Sometime later, when Neville and Harry had acquainted themselves as well, a bell was heard ringing from the corridor, and a few seconds later, the compartment door was pushed open, a plump lady with a smiling, dimpled face standing in the doorway, pushing a small cart laden with all sorts of sweets that were Ron's favorites. Though both of them had plenty of sandwiches packed by their mother, the pair of them wasted no time in squandering Harry's newly found wealth and using it (very wisely as they thought) in purchasing such a great deal of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties and the like, so that the entire empty seat next to Ron was covered with it.

Neville who, apparently had no gold to spare since his grandmother did not see him fit enough to remember to handle money properly, was promptly bought some sweets by the generous Harry, who though that the sweets on the cart were cheap enough and because he knew, from his reading, that he would not have anywhere to buy such things while in school. Pleased with his decision as he munched on a Pumpkin Pasty, he lay back to enjoy the view.

It was starting to get dark when suddenly a voice rang out through the train – one that Harry was sure belonged to Professor McGonagall – informing them to get ready to get off the train.

Soon the three of them were dressed in their new school robes and Trevor – Neville's toad – extracted from under the seat. The train gave another small lurch and started slowing down. It was now completely dark and when the train suddenly came to a standstill, the station outside was lit by lamps hung from posts. As they jumped down from the train, leaving behind their luggage as instructed, a loud, booming but familiar voice rang out, "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry?"

Harry nodded and joined the small group of first years that had gathered around Hagrid along with Neville and Ron. "Follow me then all o' ya." Hagrid said and started to lead them out of the station. They stumbled into a mussy path and the sides of the path were so dark that Harry was so sure that they were currently passing through the Forbidden Forest. When he mentioned this to Neville and Ron, both of them looked stupidly back at him; obviously having no idea of the Forbidden Forest.

"Well," Harry started. "A magical castle like Hogwarts has to be protected both magically and naturally I guess. And Hogwarts has plenty of magical defenses. It's sure to be Unplottable – so that no one can plot it on a map as well as covered with Muggle Repelling Charms or perhaps even an enchantment to make it look like a ruin to any Muggle. Just the same _those_ enchantments won't stop wizards from getting in – and if they do get in – I bet the Forbidden Forest and the Lake will prevent them from entering the castle forcibly. But the only thing I couldn't find out about was how it was protected aerially. I mean – come on – a castle like Hogwarts _should_ be protected from wizards on brooms or threstals, right?

Both Ron and Neville were still staring at him with stupid looks on their faces. Shaking his head and running a hand through his hair, he made to make his way to the front of the group, to get near Hagrid. But suddenly, Hagrid called out that they would be getting their first view of Hogwarts and the entire group of first years stopped in their tracks as they came around the bend.

"Oooooh!"

They were close to the shore of a great black lake, the moon clearly reflected on its mirror like surface. Atop a high mountain in the middle of the lake was Hogwarts – it's many windows and towers standing gloriously in the moonlight. It looked magnificent.

***

_A/N:Wow! I didn't think that I would get soo many hits soo fast!! :P *Really excited!!* past 2000 hits!!! :D_


	6. Chapter 5 Songs, Hats and Ghosts

_A/N: Sorry it took me soo long to update - but my computer crashed and I only got it back in working shape a few days ago! I know it's short - but I had to let you know I was still alive, right? =D Hope you like it! Read and REVIEW!!! (they keep me going no matter how short they are!) =) Thanks to all the readers who reviewed and have added me to their alerts and favorites! :)_

**Chapter 5: Songs, Hats and Ghosts**

"All righ' everyone! Ge' in those boats! Ah! You there – the blond-'aired boy – only four the a boa'!" Hagrid said and once everyone including Harry, Ron and Neville had taken a boat for themselves, Hagrid yelled out, "FORWARD!". The tiny boats began to move forwards, apparently by magic – because they could neither feel nor see any kind of rowing or sails. Harry lent down to touch the water and skimmed his fingers over the edge – the water was cool and fresh. It's surface was so reflective that even in the pale moonlight, he could see himself reflected back – scar and all. A few seconds later he saw something huge rise from the depths of the water and swim beneath them.

"Hagrid? Hagrid? HAGRID! There's something swimming under the water with us? It looks enormous!" Harry said, and even as this was said, before Hagrid could even answer, all the children in the boats began to look down. A few boats rocked dangerously and suddenly one of the boats – the one with the blond-haired boy who had tried to get five in a boat – toppled over. His two friends, as it seemed, had lent over one side and due to their large weights, the boat had been upset and toppled. Hagrid roared and pulled out a pink umbrella. Pointing it at the boat, he roared something unintelligible and the boat jumped in the air – something Harry thought, that Hagrid had not meant to do – but for the luck of the boys in the water, who were managing not to drown – it came down, right side up.

Suddenly, long tendrils reached out from the lake and gripped the boat tightly, and a few more began to wrap themselves around the floating children.

They screamed.

A few of the girls on the other boats seemed to be screaming as well. Harry wasn't sure. He had jumped into the water and was swimming towards the boys – apparently in an effort to save them. Hagrid was now practically yelling at them. Harry swam over to the nearest one – an enormous boy, whom Harry thought, was a wonder didn't sink to the bottom of the lake. Grabbing him by the collar, he swam toward the edge of the boat, but painfully slowly, because the boy was so heavy and didn't seem to have the brains to know how to swim. Taking him to the edge of the boat, he saw that another boy, looking identical to the boy in the boat in size was being pushed upwards with the tendrils and was being forced in to the boat.

Glad that whatever was in the lake did not want to eat them alive, Harry swam over to the blond-haired boy and grabbed him by the arm. Tugging at him sharply because he seemed to be frozen in shock, Harry hauled him too back near the boat. Then, while he was swimming back to his boat – the boats were still moving – he saw that whatever was in the water had managed to get all of the children back inside the boat. Exhausted by this "heroic" escapade, Harry swam over back to his boat – catching up quite easy because the boats were moving so slowly – and was hauled up by his two friends.

Hagrid was now yelling at the three boys who had fallen in to the lake.

"Malfoy! I know yeh father migh' be a guv'ner o' the school board – bu' that doesn't give yeh any sort o' permission teh dive into the lake! An' the pair of you – helpin' 'im! Good thing the Giant Squid is friendly this time o' the year – or yeh three would be dead." Hagrid roared so loudly that the three victims of near – drowning were cowering inside their boat in fright. Now Hagrid turned on Harry. "An' yeh! Divin' in after 'em! Jus' wait until yeh mum gets teh know 'bout this!"

Harry, who was pale from his dive into the cold water, paled – if possible even more than before. He definitely would try to talk Hagrid out of mailing his mother. He had too much experience of his mother mailing Howlers to his brothers. He turned to Ron, who just shook his head in exasperation.

* * *

Hagrid knocked on the giant, oak door before them. Harry slipped slightly on the wet stone steps as he came up towards where his brother and Neville were standing. Still wet from his 'heroic escapade', Harry was now thinking that he should just have let the three boys drown, for he had still not received a word of thanks _and _because he thought that if he remained wet for at least another hour, he would end up having a serious cold. Just as he had stumbled close to Ron, the door opened and on the threshold was none other than, Professor McGonagall. But, now, her face was not the usual face he saw – kind looking and lively – now, she looked quite stern and Harry knew that there would be no forgiveness from her even though she had been like an aunt to him at home.

"The firs' years, Professor," Hagrid said.

"Thank you, Hagrid, I will take them from here – you should hurry up as well I think." she said.

Beyond her, the Entrance Hall was magnificent. It was even better than the pictures of it he had seen in Hogwarts, A History, thought Harry, marveling at the marble staircase and the endless looking ceiling. The torches on either side of the Hall gave a warmth to the room that made Harry feel completely welcome and homely.

As, they all followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor, Harry wondered as to what house he would be sorted into. He had of course, never given it much thought, due to the fact that all his brothers had been in Gryffindor – but, now that he thought of it, he wasn't their brother anymore; what house had his parents been in? But before he could complete his thoughts, the sound of a hundred voices interrupted him and though he half expected to be taken directly into the Hall, he knew that they would first be 'briefed' by Professor McGonagall. Leading them into a small empty chamber neighboring the hall, she waited till all the first years had gathered in the room and began her 'briefing'.

"Good evening to all of you. My name is Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts as well as your Transfiguration teacher for at least five years and it is my duty to welcome all of you to Hogwarts. The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours. The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

Harry listened to all this attentively although both he and Ron knew most of this. Ron, on the other hand seemed to be nodding off to sleep. Professor McGonagall's eyes started preening through the crowd and settled on each of them in turn. The moment her eyes reached Harry however she gasped as she saw that he was wet. "Good Heavens, Mr. Potter! What on earth did you do?" Harry mumbled incoherently to the professor who was wondering whether the boy had actually dived into the lake – not knowing that this was exactly what had happened. Brandishing her wand, she swept it over Harry, and he felt himself completely dry up and warm.

"Lord! What on earth happened to you three as well?" she gasped again as she saw the blond named Malfoy and his two hulking friends. Repeating the same motion with her wand, she left the room. Harry ruffled his hair again and watched as the rest of the occupants tried to look their Sunday best. He watched as some of them began to take their wands out and practice waving them; "Must be thinking we have to fight some sort of a troll or something," Ron muttered to the pair of them as they grinned. A girl in one corner, with bushy hair was muttering what sounded to Harry as all the spells in their books to herself at top speed.

Chortling, Harry said, loudly, "So, Ron? You remember Bill telling us how he had to fight off a troll and a manticore at the same time to get sorted?" A few people stared at them, mouths agape. Fighting to keep a straight face, he went on, "And remember, Percy? Even though he's a prefect now, he nearly died trying to keep off that dragon remember?" "Ermm... Harry? Why are you making up these weird stories?" Ron asked his voice an audible whisper in the silence that had fallen across the room.

Harry groaned.

* * *

Professor McGonagall pushed open the enormous double doors and strode in purposefully. The new first-years followed behind her, anxious and shivering. Harry - despite his jovial mood - was frightened down to his core. He had not asked his parents about his birth-parents' Houses and now was truly afraid of being sorted to a house other than Gryffindor. He knew that if he got sorted into Slytherin, he would be in for tons of ridiculing from the twins and a long lecture from Percy about how he would have to 'behave himself and not be influenced by any of the Slytherins.' He knew that his parents couldn't care less about the House he was sorted into, but was only slightly comforted by this.

Beside him, Harry felt Ron shivering as well as they moved into the cavernous Great Hall. They all looked up in wonder as they saw the ceiling, reflecting the stars outside. The elegance was truly matched by the ornate tables that filled the Hall: four long tables with hundreds of students seated at them, most of the heads turning around from the discussions they were engaged in, to look at the new first-years. But, Professor McGonagall was not leading them to any of the four tables but to a long table facing the ends of the four House tables, raised up on a platform. The table was filled with who appeared to look like their teachers; Professor Dumbledore was seated at the throne like chair at the center - his twinkling eyes upon Harry, a faint smile visible on his face.

"Hey, Harry? Does it rain in here?" Ron asked in a whisper, to cover up his anxiety.

"It's bewitched to look like the sky outside you dimwit! Now stop talking everyone is starting to stare at us."

To both Harry and Ron, it appeared to look so - but, Harry mused, it would appear the same to anyone else that the multitude of eyes was upon them - for their fear was overpowering their senses. Harry started to look around the room, to suddenly notice that all of the children were now looking forwards. He turned his head just in time to see a pointy patched wizard's hat being placed on a three-legged stool. Recognizing it as the Sorting Hat, Harry was completely unsurprised when it opened it's brim and burst into song; but judging from the gasps of some of his to-be friends, they had never read their new books.

"_Oh you may not think me pretty, _

_But don't judge on what you see, _

_I'll eat myself if you can find _

_A smarter hat than me. _

_You can keep your bowlers black, _

_Your top hats sleek and tall, _

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat _

_And I can cap them all. _

_There's nothing hidden in your head _

_The Sorting Hat can't see, _

_So try me on and I will tell you _

_Where you ought to be. _

_You might belong in Gryffindor, _

_Where dwell the brave at heart, _

_Their daring, nerve, and chivalry _

_Set Gryffindors apart; _

_You might belong in Hufflepuff, _

_Where they are just and loyal, _

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true _

_And unafraid of toil; _

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw, _

_if you've a ready mind, _

_Where those of wit and learning, _

_Will always find their kind; _

_Or perhaps in Slytherin _

_You'll make your real friends, _

_Those cunning folks use any means _

_To achieve their ends. _

_So put me on! Don't be afraid! _

_And don't get in a flap! _

_You're in safe hands (though I have none) _

_For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

The moment the song finished, the Hall burst into applause as the Hat bowed to each of the House tables in turn and stood straight once more. Harry stood up straighter as he knew what would be coming soon. Professor McGonagall strode up to the chair and unrolling parchment, she said, "When I read out your name, please sit on the stool and put on the hat. Then you will join the table as you are assigned to."

"Abbot, Hannah!"

Harry gave out an enormous sigh of relief. They were going in alphabetical order. They would take a long time to come to "Weasley".

Suddenly, the hat which had covered Hannah's eyes as she had put it on, suddenly yelled out, "HUFFLEPUFF!" Beaming, the girl pulled off the hat, kept it slowly on the stool and walked off to the table which was cheering, at the induction of their newest student. Most of his nervousness evaporating when he saw that it was all a simple matter of putting on the hat and being sorted - although he had known this before, only seeing it made it seem more realistic and less frightening - he began to look around the Hall again. He looked up at the High Table and his swept past Dumbledore and landed on Hagrid, who seemed to be enjoying the whole proceedings and when he caught Harry's eye, he winked and gave a small thumbs up. Returning it only half willingly, he was abruptly brought back to earth when the Hat yelled out, "HUFFLEPUFF!" once more.

Harry silently watched the proceedings from then onwards, absorbing every little detail of the Sorting. He noticed that some, like the Malfoy boy, took no time at all to be sorted, while some others took much longer. Suddenly, the Professor said, "Longbottom, Neville!" and Neville stumbled forwards from behind Harry, looking green. Patting him on the back with a trembling hand, Harry crossed his fingers as Neville sat down on the stool, forgetting that he had to put the Hat on first. Changing colors from green to a deep red, Neville stood back up and without hesitating even further, pulled on the Hat, which took a slight moment but yelled, "Gryffindor!"

Clapping with the rest and giving a brief whistle, something which no-one seemed to mind, Harry straightened up once more and watched the proceedings. Harry watched as two twins, "Patil, Padma" and "Patil, Parvati" were sorted into different houses and wondered how Fred and George had ended up in the same House. "Probably something Dumbledore did on purpose to stop them from wandering around in the middle of the night to meet each other." Harry thought, grinning, but suddenly the sound of a voice stating the impossible shattered his thoughts.

"Potter, Harry!"

Loud whispers filled the Hall and scraping of benches was heard as people stood up to look at him. Ron nudged him. Stumbling, Harry walked up as he heard, "Did she say Harry, Harry Potter?", "Yeah! Look! There's his scar!" and "Do you think my new wand looks good?". Shaking his head, he picked up the Hat, sat down on the stool, nearly loosing his balance as he did so and pulled it down as far as it would go, so that he was staring at the velvet inside. Loosing the view of a hundred or so people craning their necks to get a good look at him, seemed to calm him down. But suddenly a small voice spoke in his ear.

"Hmm.." said the Hat. "Difficult nut to crack. Plenty of courage, I see, yes... and cunning too..."

The moment he heard this, Harry began to fervently wish in his head, "Please not Slytherin, anywhere but Slytherin!"

"But, dear boy! Slytherin will make you great! It'll help you on your way to greatness! Well - if you're sure... Better be GRYFFINDOR!"

Harry nearly fainted with joy. He was getting his lifelong wish and as he took off the Hat admist great roaring cheers from the Gryffindor table, he began to think of how foolish he had really been. Ruffling through his hair, he ran upto the Gryffindor table and as he sat down next to Neville, a great many people clapped him on the back along with Neville and it was not until the sound of the McGonagall's voice announcing the next student's name that the Hall quietened down, though Harry felt many eyeballs still on him.

Grinning at Neville, Harry turned around at caught Ron's eye, giving him a brief thumbs up and hoping that Ron too would be with them. A few minutes later, Harry's worst fears were broken when Ron joined them at their table, grinning from ear to ear. Looking down the table, they both grinned at their brothers and looked forward as they saw McGonagall putting away the Hat and the stool.

Dumbledore stood up. "Welcome! Welcome to Hogwarts all of you! But - there can be introductions and welcomes later! Now is the time for all of us to appease the bellies that have been growling for attention." He smiled. "But first a few words! And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!" Chortling, Harry turned his gaze from the High Table to the splendid and scrumptious looking meal that now lay before him.

* * *

_A/N: There you go - now who's going to be the new Defense teacher? And is Snape still here? And did anyone manage to guess what's different in the plot?? :P_


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